Peanut-free turron

Last year I contacted this company: Turrones San Luís and they wrote back to assure me that they do not use peanuts in any of their products, and that their almond supplier deals exclusively with almonds. So, I consider their turrón to be peanut free (though it never hurts to double-check.) Last year I found them in the Club del Gourmet section of El Corte Inglés. I'm sure there are other brands of turrón that are made under similar conditions, but this is the only company I contacted who actually answered me.

Chocolate!

I haven't posted here in a long time-- really, I haven't been thinking much about the allergy, but we are gearing up for a trip to the US and it will suddenly become more of an issue, with peanuts and peanut butter becoming much more common.

For now, I have discovered that Lindt chocolate labels specifically-- instead of just saying "frutos secos" "frutos de cáscara" (basically, "nuts") they specify: May contain traces of almond and hazelnut." Since my child is not allergic to either of those nuts, and they are listed only as traces, not as actual ingredients, I feel comfortable letting him eat the chocolate labelled this way (it's possible that some varieties of Lindt chocolate may list peanut traces, though I haven't yet found any.)

I also noticed that Carte D'or ice cream labels some of their flavours as having possible traces of peanut and other nuts, and other flavours don't carry this warning. It seems worth investigating further to see if these other flavours might actually be peanut safe.

Peanuts in McDonald's food!/ Cacahuete en McDonalds

I read on an allergy board here in Spain that there are peanuts in the breading for the McDonalds Nuggets and for McPollo, their chicken sandwich. Needless to say, I was shocked, since our peanut-allergic son has eaten the nuggets several times with no problem. I know that in the US this is not the case, and I could swear that I checked out the website here before letting him eat at McDonalds. Well, I went to the local McD's website, and unfortunately the application that had the nutrition info would not open on my computer. So, I made the trip to the actual McDonald's near us, and got a hard copy. According to the allergen chart they gave me, the McNuggets and the chicken are listed as !, which means that the allergen may be present and it is not possible to rule out its presence. So basically, it is a "may contain." The only "does contain" for peanuts, aside from the peanut topping, is the M&M McFlurry, and there are no other "may contains" except for the Casear salad with crispy chicken. The sheet was prepared in September 2009, so its possible that they have changed since I first found out about the allergy, but it is still sobering news. Needless to say, McNuggets are off our menu now. The sheet refers people to the website (different address) for updated info: www.mcdonaldsmenu.info. There you can check by country. The UK site, for example, does not list the chicken as a may contain. Now that I've checked, I see that on this site, the Spain information does not, either. So there is a discrepancy between the printed sheet and the website, but for now we'll play it safe. The website is dated 2006, so I'm thinking it's outdated...

Anyway, I thought readers would appreciate the heads up-- though hopefully you are more diligent about checking restaurant information than I was. Big oops.


Hace poco leí en un foro para alérgicos aquí en España que el pollo de McDonalds (nuggets y McPollo) lleva cachuetes en el rebozado. Me ha extrañado mucho, ya que creí haberlo comprobado (sé que en EEUU no lo lleva, pero claro, puede variar por país) y nuestro hijo alérgico ha comido los nuggets muchas veces sin problemas. Para resumir, fui a preguntar en el restaurante más cercano y me dieron una hoja con información nutricional, incluyendo los alérgenos, y sí que pone el pollo como posibles trazas. Los datos de esta hoja fueron actualizados en septiembre 2009, por lo que podría haber cambiado la composición del pollo desde que lo miré al enterarme de la alérgia. En la hoja remiten a otra página web (www.mcdonaldsmenu.info) para información más actualizada, y allí de hecho no pone el pollo como trazas de cacahuete, pero ya con la duda no vamos a arriesgarnos. La página web tiene fecha de 2006, así que los datos más recientes son los que ponen "trazas."

Still looking for peanut-free turrón/ Todavía buscando turrones sin cacahuete

I haven't been to the grocery store in awhile, but tonight, in addition to the recall warning mentioned in the post below, I noticed that Christmas is in full swing-- decorations, promotions, and of course, turrones. I didn't have time to do much checking, but all the ones I checked had a "trazas de otros frutos de cáscara" warning. Which means that unless I contact the manufacturers and find out whether peanut is one of the possible "frutos de cáscara" involved, we have to avoid all of them. I suspect that the commercial brands sold in most supermarkets will not be safe, but I do think there's a chance that some of the more "artesanal" companies might work only with almonds and buy their almonds from a safe source. I will let you know if I find out anything more specific...


Todavía sigo sin encontrar turrones que no lleven el etiquetado de "trazas de otros frutos de cáscara." Como sólo tenemos que evitar cachuetes, tengo esperanzas de encontrar alguna marca que podemos usar (probablemente uno más artesanal), pero tendré que ponerme en contacto con los fabricantes para tener más datos. ¡Ya os avisaré! (Y si alguién conoce alguna, por favor, dímelo!)

Product recall/ retirada de productos de Carrefour

Tonight I saw a sign up at our local supermarket (Carrefour) announcing the recall of some of their products due to unlabelled possible traces of peanut. They are chocolate hazelnut products, so I wouldn't have bought them anyway, but it is heartening that they are informing customers of this oversight and are taking action. I'm hoping that this is indicative of a committment on their part to label their products for traces of peanut (though I'm also hoping that this recall was not prompted by a serious reaction by a PA individual to one of these products...)

Hoy vi el anuncio de retirada de algunos productos de Carrefour debido a la posible presencia no-etiquetada de trazas de cachuete. Son productos de crema de chocolate y avellanas-- abajo pego el texto del aviso para que lo podáis leer. Espero que esto indica un compromiso serio por su parte de etiquetar todas las posibles trazas de cacahuete en sus productos (y también que nadie hay tenido una reacción grave a causa de uno de estos productos):

Centros Comerciales Carrefour informa a sus clientes:

Ante la posible presencia de trazas de Cacahuete en los siguientes productos de marca Carrefour:

* - Sticks 3 x 53 g (crema avellanas y palitos de pan) EAN 3560070167920
* - Crema para untar con avellanas 750 g envase de vidrio EAN 3560070273881
* - Crema para untar con avellanas 750 g (2 sabores) envase de vidrio EAN 3560070273874
* - Crema al cacao 240 g envase de vidrio EAN 8431876099362
* - Crema untar dos sabores 240 g envase de vidrio EAN 8431876112733

Centros Comerciales Carrefour ha retirado de la venta estos artículos y ha decidido comunicar a sus clientes que por precaución los artículos mencionados no deben ser consumidos por personas alérgicas al cacahuete.

El resto de la población puede consumirlos con total tranquilidad.

Los clientes que lo deseen pueden solicitar la devolución del importe de la compra de estos productos en su hipermercado o supermercado habitual.

PARA CUALQUIER CONSULTA PUEDEN PONERSE EN CONTACTO CON NOSOTROS EN NUESTRO TELEFONO DE ATENCION AL CLIENTE 902 20 20 00 o A TRAVÉS DE LA PAGINA WEB

Les rogamos disculpas por las molestias que podamos ocasionarles y les agradecemos su colaboración.

Muchas gracias

Madrid, 27 de Octubre de 2009

Our first allergist appointment/Primera visita con el alergólogo

I thought I would share our experience with the allergist here in Spain. Our son had his first (and so far, only) reaction at 15 months when he got ahold of his brothers' peanut butter. He coughed a bit, made a face, sneezed and had a sudden explosion of runny nose, but then seemed fine. A short time later, though, I noticed that he had hives on his face and neck, and I took him to Urgencias at the local hospital, where they examined him, gave him a liquid antihistamine (Aerius, I think it was called-- it's like Claritin) and observed him for an hour, at which point all symptoms had disappeared. The discharge report recommended a follow-up visit with the pediatrician and referral to an allergist, continued use of the antihistamine for three days, and the total avoidance of all nuts. This was back at the end of May.

I took him to the ped the next day, and she gave us the referral, and at my request, a Rx for an Epi-Pen (here sold under the brand name Altellus, and also referred to generically as "adrenalina autoinyectable"). She also said to keep him away from peanuts (her exact words were along the lines of "don't let him anywhere near them", though she didn't mention checking for traces.)

So about a month later I got the call that we had been granted an appointment at the end of September. It was at a children's hospital in Madrid, and they did testing that same day. (Prick test only-- when we got the results, he said it wasn't necessary to do blood testing at this point in time.) I asked them to test for sesame as well, which they did, as well as for a whole list of tree nuts, but I forgot to ask about soy and it wasn't in the panel they did (maybe because I had said he tolerated lentils, peas, garbanzos, etc?) The full list they tested for was: sesame, walnut, hazelnut, pistachio, cashew, pine nuts, chestnut, almond, sunflower seeds.

And the verdict was, allergic only to peanuts! The doctor gave another Rx for the adrenalina and showed me how to use it, and also gave a Rx for Polaramine, the antihistamine of choice here for food allergies. He said that they joked that peanut allergy was the "American allergy", since here it's not very common. I had already gathered as much, though I have seen others with PA in the patient advocacy group for allergies. We have to go back in a year.

Obviously I am very happy with this news-- it does put my mind at ease somewhat, since here it is much more likely that he will encounter almond or hazelnut as ingredients rather than peanut (more likely, but not foolproof, so I know I can't let down my guard.) I am hopeful that I may even be able to find some turrón made by a company whose almond supplier does not deal with peanuts, and maybe even some other products that are now possibilities. Though most nuts are likely to have potential traces of peanut, as do most sunflower seeds, raisins, and other dried fruits, so it doesn't change things all that much.

I will, however, post here about any nut products I find that are peanut free (if I find any-- I may be overly optimistic.) Many labels say "trazas de frutos secos" without specifying which ones, and since technically peanut is not a "fruto seco" but rather a "legumbre", it's not 100% clear as to whether the general warning refers to peanut. Sometimes I have seen peanut specifically mentioned along with the tree nuts: "frutos secos y/o cacahuete." But without further reliable information from the manufacturers, we will still be avoiding traces of nuts-- especially since those nuts could themselves have traces of peanut, depending on the suppliers.

I am glad to be able to put Tahini back on the list, though!

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Escribiré un poco sobre nuestra experiencia con el alergólogo. Nuestro hijo tuvo su primera (y de momento, única) reacción a los 15 meses cuando encontró una galleta con crema de cacahuete de sus hermanos. Probó un poco pero lo rechazó, con un poco de tos y estornudo con muchos mocos, y luego parecía estar bién, hasta un poco después cuando noté que tenía ronchitas en la cara y cuello y el dedo. Le llevé a Urgencias donde le dieron un antihistamínico y estuvo en observación una hora, y le desaparecieron las ronchitas. En el informe de alta recomendaron seguir con el antihistamínico durante tres días, consultar con el pediatra, y pedir cita con el alergólogo, y que evitase todos los frutos secos. El día siguiente la pediatra me dio el volante para el alergólogo, y le pedí la adrenalina autoinyectable.

La cita con el alergólogo fue el lunes, y le hicieron las pruebas de piel (prick test) para cacahuete, sésamo (eso porque se lo pedí yo), y otros frutos secos: castaña, almendra, anacardo, pistachio, piñon, nuez, avellana, y pipas de girasol. Por suerte, ha salido negativo en todo menos el cacahuete, y no tuvieron que hacer pruebas de sangre. Me mandaron dos recetas (Polaramine y Altellus, la adrenalina) y tenemos que volver dentro de un año. Dijo que la alergía al cacahuete es poco frecuente en España, aunque yo creo que sí que existe, a lo mejor es más común entre personas que tienen a la vez otras alergias a alimentos.

De todas formas, me he tranquilizado bastante al saber que tolera el resto de frutos secos (sé que el cacahuete es un legumbre, no un fruto seco), aunque por el tema de las trazas quizas tampoco podrá tomarlos. Sí tengo esperanzas de poder encontrar alguna marca de turrón, por ejemplo, y si encuentro marcas de otras cosas que llevan frutos secos sin trazas de cacahuete, avisaré aquí. Me gustaría poder encontrar una marca de pasas que pueda tomar, pero de momento no he podido.

Conguitos and other chocolate/ Conguitos y otros chocolates

This popular candy (I post the picture so you will recognize it, though it is offensive-- let me just say that this is the updated, "politically correct" version of the packaging, and leave it at that) is chocolate covered peanuts. They have a white chocolate version as well.

Not, of course, that a peanut-allergic person would be likely to purchase candy without carefully checking the label (and incidentally, none of the regularly-available brands of chocolate sold here are free of nut traces, though many may only have almond or hazelnut traces,) but it's good to be aware of it if other people around you are eating them or if your PA toddler encounters the abandoned wrapper at a park etc.


Then there is this chocolate, which contains ground hazelnuts even in the plain milk chocolate form.

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Cuelgo esta foto de un dulce popular (Conguitos) que se compone de cacahuetes cubiertos de chocolate (también hay una versión en chocolate blanco.) Aunque la gente con alergía al cacahuete no suele comprar dulces sin leer el etiquetado, es posible que alguien a tu lado los come (como nos pasó en nuestro vuelo a EEUU) o que un niño alérgico encuentre el papel abandonado en el parque, etc.

También avisar que los chocolates Milka contienen avellana molida, aún en la versión normal de chocolate con leche.